With summer right around the corner, it’s time to think about keeping children eating healthy while school is out. An easy way is to send them to neighborhood public schools at mealtime.
USD 428 will once again provide free meals to children Monday through Thursday from June 1-25. This is the 20th year the program has been supported locally.
Meals will be served at Park, Riley Eisenhower, Jefferson and Lincoln schools. They are prepared at the district’s central kitchen and served by USD 428 employees.
Breakfast will be served from 8-8:45 a.m. at Park and Riley schools. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Park and Riley and also at Eisenhower, Jefferson and Lincoln schools.
“This is a great opportunity for parents or child-care givers to feed children during the month of June for free,” said Khris Thexton, USD 428 director of business and operations.
The doors are open for anyone under the age of 19 for the free meals, but adults can eat breakfast for $2 or lunch for $3.50, Thexton said. There are no income or registration requirements and no identification of any kind is needed.
“It will be a nice, cool place for them to eat,” he said. “With five locations in town, a free lunch is just a short walk away for most people.
“This is really a good program for anyone with children. We hope everyone will take advantage of it,” Thexton said.
Each year, the United States Department of Agriculture partners with local organizations like USD 428 to provide free meals to children when school is out for the summer.
For more information about the Summer Food Service Program in Kansas, visit www.kn-eat.org/SFSP/SFSP_Menus/SFSP_Promotion.htm.